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Post by LandarVargan on May 17, 2022 17:52:18 GMT
I discovered these yesterday. There are three parts, with the last one coming out earlier today. Youtube interviews w/ Ben Dever & Vincent Lazzari by the Instadeath Podcast I didn't see them posted here so I figured I'd share EDIT: Go through the replies for more Lone Wolf related interviews found by other users, there are some good ones |
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Post by anotherknight on May 18, 2022 13:02:01 GMT
Ben said that Project Aon "put a pressure to my dad to continue them" I mean the books.
I think otherwise.
I think Dever created a Lone Wolf community from the beginning as a guarantee of continuity,
preservation and finally as a growth reminder.
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Post by Ofecks on May 18, 2022 19:14:48 GMT
Those were interesting, thanks for posting them. I also now have faces to the names, that's always a plus for me.
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Post by Rune Owl on May 21, 2022 16:42:50 GMT
I watched the first video so far. It is really worthwhile. I recommend it for all Lone Wolf fans. It is nineteen minutes long.
Ben Dever:
Vincent Lazzari:
Ben said he never read a Lone Wolf book until after his father died. He knew it was his father's work, but he wasn't very interested in it.
There was an eighteen-year gap after Book 28. The gamebook market collapsed because of computer games. Then, when the Internet got some momentum behind it, Project Aon became a magnet for fans. It put pressure on Joe Dever to finish the series. He had grown tired of it, but he realized he missed it and wanted to finish the project.
Vincent said the first step in the resurrection was in 2004, when Mongoose Publishing wanted to make the Lone Wolf roleplaying game. Then Mongoose republished all the books in a collector's edition format.
Ben talked about taking over the project while his father was in the hospice. He said he was happy to work on something with his father. It was good to talk about something other than their feelings. He didn't realize what a big undertaking it would be, but he had the best help during the process. The next few books were written by Vincent and Joe, with Ben editing. Later, Ben came to enjoy the series more.
Ben already had a career as an event organizer for music festivals, but he had more time to work on it after the COVID pandemic.
Vincent started to work with Joe around 2010. Vincent was working on the Lone Wolf books in French. Joe sent him new material to review and Vincent checked it for consistency with the rest of the universe. So Vincent got to be in charge of the lore of the universe. This was true for books, roleplaying games, and video games. At the end of Joe's life, he asked Vincent to author the rest of the books with Ben.
Vincent talked about the experience of losing his favorite author and being asked to take over the series at the same time.
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Post by Rune Owl on May 21, 2022 17:03:56 GMT
The second video is fourteen minutes long. It is about the Definitive Edition and the future of the series.
The series has been through a lot of publishers over the years. You could never put together a collection of the books "that looked right on the shelf." Ben also said the lore had gotten inconsistent, so it needed to be sorted out.
Vincent said they kept the original rules, but added optional rules to solve problems. Readers can choose different modes of gameplay, which make the fights harder or easier. The power of the Sommerswerd was a big sticking point.
Beginning in May 2022, you can buy paperback books and ebooks. There will be boxed sets. Ben said he would love to do an app with an interactive audio book.
Ben said there was plan to make a new Lone Wolf roleplaying game in 2023 using Dungeons & Dragons rules.
The interviewer, Brian Hazzard, asked Ben what his wildest dream for Magnamund would be. Ben said he would like to see the series enjoy the same success it had in the 1980s. They are serving the existing fans now, but Ben would like to see a new generation of readers discover it.
Ben said he was particularly interested in a particular part of the Magnamund history as a setting for prequels, but it was too early to talk about it. He and Vincent said they could continue the story for the rest of their lives, but it was a matter of finding time for the writing.
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Post by Rune Owl on May 21, 2022 17:22:09 GMT
The third video is about the community surrounding Lone Wolf. (That's us!) It is eleven minutes long.
Ben said he felt lucky, knowing how difficult some fan bases can be, especially when a new person takes over. He said he was shocked by how supportive everyone was.
When Ben took over, the only access he had to the fans was through his dad's personal Facebook page. He only started to reach out through advertising and social media a short time before the interview. Old fans are introducing the books to their kids, who are in the original target audience of nine to fifteen years old.
The only change for new fans was that the authors made it ambiguous whether Lone Wolf was male or female, which made the series more accessible to girls.
There are a few spoilers for Book 30 in the video between 4:43 and 5:14. I won't reproduce them here, but you can either watch that part or skip over it as you like.
Ben talked about announcing his father's death on Facebook and then watching the tributes pour in from fans. He said it was overwhelming.
Ben said his favorite fan content was the music. He comes from the music industry. Vincent said his favorite work was the fan fiction. He counted himself as a fan fiction author. He also mentioned the map work of Francesco Mattioli.
Both Ben and Vincent said that fans submitted so many good ideas that they just need to decide which projects to invest in, which was a great position to be in.
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gibe
Kai Lord
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Post by gibe on May 23, 2022 3:53:31 GMT
Thanks for the links to the videos, they are very interesting. After watching them, I've been searching for interviews of Joe Dever on Youtube. Some of them are very instructive, while in some others he's just repeating the Lone Wolf mecahnics. There is a large playlist that contains dozens of interviews. I've only watch a couples but the second one struck me a lot : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUVIusvihoA&list=PLujSNbXwSk9snio5OloE7tfoJmKSX94Vj&index=3&t=3242sLook at all the miniatures, he really dedicated his all life to Magnamund in all its form (RPGs, Game Books, wargames,...). |
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gibe
Kai Lord
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Post by gibe on May 24, 2022 2:42:15 GMT
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Post by rhygar on May 24, 2022 17:21:41 GMT
Look at all the miniatures, he really dedicated his all life to Magnamund in all its form (RPGs, Game Books, wargames,...). If you are interested in Joe's miniature collection, there are some great photos of one of his battle days uploaded elsewhere on these boards. Also in the wider internet there's a blog called Broadswords and Beasts in which the blogger is documenting his restoration of a lot of Joe's old miniatures collection which are now in his possession. |
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Post by wisestrider on May 29, 2022 17:32:29 GMT
I had no idea Joe had been given 6 months to live & went on to live another 10 years. All that struggle with Mongoose and actually getting the old (& new) books published must have been extra frustrating for him with that in the background. Would have loved to hear more about his planned new IP too - gives a tantalising glimpse into what could have been. |
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Post by wisestrider on May 29, 2022 17:38:55 GMT
The second video is fourteen minutes long. It is about the Definitive Edition and the future of the series.
The series has been through a lot of publishers over the years. You could never put together a collection of the books "that looked right on the shelf." Ben also said the lore had gotten inconsistent, so it needed to be sorted out.
Vincent said they kept the original rules, but added optional rules to solve problems. Readers can choose different modes of gameplay, which make the fights harder or easier. The power of the Sommerswerd was a big sticking point.
Beginning in May 2022, you can buy paperback books and ebooks. There will be boxed sets. Ben said he would love to do an app with an interactive audio book.
Ben said there was plan to make a new Lone Wolf roleplaying game in 2023 using Dungeons & Dragons rules.
The interviewer, Brian Hazzard, asked Ben what his wildest dream for Magnamund would be. Ben said he would like to see the series enjoy the same success it had in the 1980s. They are serving the existing fans now, but Ben would like to see a new generation of readers discover it.
Ben said he was particularly interested in a particular part of the Magnamund history as a setting for prequels, but it was too early to talk about it. He and Vincent said they could continue the story for the rest of their lives, but it was a matter of finding time for the writing.
Ben also talks a bit about wanting to grow the brand in this one - specifically to get it to the level where someone may be willing to pick it up for a Witcher sized AAA video game. Feels like he'd really need the promised paperback versions to take off for that to happen, especially if he could somehow get them into other shops. Lot's of interesting bits in all three episodes though - well worth a listen. |
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